Pakistanis bugging international calls escape jail in Dar

Faustine kapama

THREE Pakistan nationals yesterday narrowly escaped a four year custodian sentence each when they managed to pay a total fine of 125m/- for fraudulent use of communication network and occasioning loss of over 140m/- to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).

Principal Resident Magistrate Respicious Mwijage had imposed such sentence at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday after convicting the three foreigners, Hafeez Irfan, Mirza Irfan Baig and Mirza Rizwan Baig, on their own plea of guilty to the charges against them.
The magistrate took into account several factors as advanced by State Attorney Ester Martin, for the prosecution, notably the nature of the offences committed by the suspects which could endanger the national security and safety and cause adverse impact on the country’s economy.
Other charges included importation and installation of electronic communication equipment without a licence, use of unapproved electronic equipment and operating electronic communications without a licence.